Abstract

This case study discusses the Survivor-Centered Advocacy (SCA) Project, a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project that convened anti-violence advocates from culturally specific communities to design and implement research. The project used a unique approach to build grassroots research capacity and center survivors of intimate partner violence from historically marginalized communities. This approach coalesced into the creation of an exploratory Community-Led Research (CLR) framework that incorporated trauma-informed, research justice and language justice principles. The CLR framework responded to community members’ desire to lead, rather than simply participate in, the research process. As a result, five studies were designed and executed by practitioners turned community-based researchers, most of whom had never before engaged in research, except as subjects. The CLR framework integrated the skills and experiences of community-based and external researchers, and led to high levels of engagement, rich data, more equitable research processes and innovative research projects.

Notes

Acknowledgements

The SCA Project was supported by Grant Number 90EV0430 from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; the Blue Shield of California Foundation; and the NoVo Foundation. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of any of the abovementioned entities. We are grateful to and acknowledge the contributions of Trilce Santana and Florencia Manovil – Spanish-English interpreters and translators and members of a Bay Area language justice collective – who worked with us extensively throughout the SCA project, and who first introduced us to the term and concept of “language justice.” Lastly, a special thank you to API-GBV staff member, Biney Kaur Dev, who contributed much to the preparation of this manuscript and to the SCA Project overall.

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